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1992-06-21
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User Biographies v2.0
Copyright 1992 Ernie Johnson
All Rights Reserved
User Documentation
What is USERBIOG (User Biographies)?
--------------------------------------------------------------
User Biographies (USERBIOG for short) is a BBS "door" program
that allows users on a BBS to write short "biographies" about
themselves. In doing this, other users can read through the
biographies and find other people with similar interests to chat
with, leave messages to, or just to find out what other people
are interested in.
UserBiog has many features, and if you are interested in what
can be done with it, you should ask your sysop about the
program. The different "fields" of information (ie; City,
State, Hobbies, etc) can all be changed by your sysop.
What about version 1.0?
--------------------------------------------------------------
The initial release of USERBIOG occured over a year ago, as the
first door program I had ever written. Since then I have had
several requests for customized versions of USERBIOG to support
different field names. Some time later, I finally decided to
take the time and write a new version that allowed sysops to set
this up for themselves. The only problem is an incompatibility
between version 2.0 and 1.0 - if your sysop had been running
version 1.0 prior to this version, the database would be lost as
there is no easy way to convert the old database to the new
database style used.
Menu Options
--------------------------------------------------------------
A - Add your Biography
----------------------
If you have never added your biography to the database, this
option lets you fill one out. If you have previously entered a
biography, you will be told to use the "Edit" option (below).
When you add your information, each field is displayed to you
for completion. If you type too much information for the field,
you will hear a "beeping" sound, and what you type will not be
entered. This beeping means you have reached the limit of the
field. You will need to shorten your response to the question.
E - Edit your Biography
-----------------------
If you have previous entered your biography you must use this
option to change your entry. If your biography can not be
found, or if you haven't entered one previously, you will be
told to use the "Add" option (see above).
When you add your information, each field is displayed to you
for completion. If you type too much information for the field,
you will hear a "beeping" sound, and what you type will not be
entered. This beeping means you have reached the limit of the
field. You will need to shorten your response to the question.
Above the field name, you will see your previous entry, if one
had been entered, and you can enter your new information for
this field, or simply press <ENTER> to keep what you have
entered before and move to the next field.
L - List other users
--------------------
This gives you a simple list of people who have entered
information into the database. You can then make a note of the
name(s) you want to lookup and use the "View" option as outlined
below. It tells you the number of people listed in the
database, along with each persons name.
V - View Biographies
--------------------
The "view" option lets you browse through biographies one at a
time, forward or backward. The full biography of the user is
displayed as you scroll through the biographies. You might
find it faster to search for a particular name, or other piece
of information.
When you select this option, you are asked for a name to locate,
or to press ENTER to browse all records.
If you enter a name, you will be displayed the first matching
record. If you just press ENTER, you will be displayed the
first record in the database.
If you enter a partial name you are taken to the FIRST occurance
of that name. For example, if the following users are in your
database:
JANE DOE
JOHN DOE
JOHN JOHNSON
JOHN MACDONALD
And you enter "JOHN" to search for, the first record you will
see is the entry for "JOHN DOE". If you were to simply enter
"J" to search on, the entry for "JANE DOE" would be the first
one located.
S - Search for information
--------------------------
Using this option you can locate specific records, or groups of
records matching a search "string" you specify.
A list of fields and corresponding numbers will be displayed -
enter the number of the field to search on and then enter the
information you wish to search for.
For example, with the default configuration, a field called
"Favorite Sports" is displayed as field number 12. Enter
"scuba" (upper and lower case is irrelevant) and press ENTER.
If anyone else that has filled out a biography has the work
"scuba" in the hobbies field their full biography will be
displayed. It doesn't matter if their entry in the hobby field
is just "scuba", "scuba diving", or "computers and scuba
diving".
H - Help
--------
Displays the information you are reading right now! The best
way to learn is to just start exploring the different options
available. When you can't do something that you are trying to
do, USRBIOG will tell you!
I - Information
---------------
Displays information on the USERBIOG program such as copyright
notices, version number, and the registration status - either
"unregistered" or "registered" to your BBS.
Q - Quit to BBS
---------------
Quite simply, this option returns you to the BBS software after
you are finished using the User Biographies door program.
Product Support
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you have problems using USERBIOG, your first stop should be
your sysop. Perhaps he/she has changed something on the BBS
that has caused USERBIOG to stop working properly.
If your sysop is unable to help you, support can be obtained on
EPIC Information Systems BBS at (519) 357-1943 2400 baud v.42
or (519) 357-2952 38,400 baud USR Dual Standard.
Leave a message to the sysop on EPIC BBS with your problem, and
the name and phone number of the BBS where USERBIOG is running
on.
Shareware Software & USERBIOG
--------------------------------------------------------------
Please note that the USERBIOG program is "Shareware" software.
What this means is that it is user support in such that for me,
the author, to continue producing quality products at reasonable
costs, I need to get some sort of return on my time and effort
that is put into producing and distributing this product.
If your sysop has not yet registered this program, please
encourage him to do so, and users are even encouraged to help
support the product by sending your sysop a couple of dollars to
put towards the registration of this product.
For more information on registering this product please leave a
message to your sysop stating that you are interested in helping
support the USERBIOG program.